Published: January 4, 2026
The voice was arrogant, yet there was no trace of hostility or malice.
More importantly, the “+” on my status had increased.
This was no enemy, but rather one who, like Leviathan and the others, obeyed me.
In that case—
Just like with Leviathan and the others, I linked it to the armor ring and materialized it.
The ring’s material rapidly transformed into a bird with massive wings relative to its body.
“My name is Jiz. I am the magical bird symbolizing the sky, counterpart to Leviathan and Behemoth.”
The grandiose tone echoed in my mind.
At the same time, I heard names I knew well.
Leviathan, and Behemoth.
All of them were beings who obeyed me (...).
This Jiz claimed to be a similar existence to those two.
“In that case, obey me as you do Leviathan and the others.”
“...As you command.”
The next moment, an image flowed into my mind.
Power—an image of wielding Jiz’s power.
“Interesting... I’ll try it out right away.”
When I said that, Jiz dematerialized and retreated back into the feather ornament.
Holding it, I focused my energy and concentrated.
Immediately, wings sprouted from my back.
Enormous wings, probably twice the length of my outstretched arms.
Though white like a swan’s feathers, they seemed to shine with a radiant light—wings of light.
“Wow...”
Guran let out a voice of admiration upon seeing them.
I tried to flap the wings.
“Hmph...”
Like when I first walked on two legs after reincarnation, I struggled to exert strength.
Though I could feel the wings connected to my body, I couldn’t move them skillfully.
Still, I tried to move them, my whole body trembling as I exerted effort.
Gradually, the wings began to move.
Flap, flap, flap-flap—
The flapping became smoother and smoother—and finally,
“I-it flew!?”
My feet left the ground, and my body was slowly lifted.
After flapping with almost all my strength, I managed to leap about as high as my own height.
Feeling thrilled, I relaxed my focus, causing the flapping to stop and I fell back down.
Because I fell straight down, I didn’t lose balance and landed smoothly.
“Incredible! Your Majesty, I never thought you could fly like an angel.”
While Guran praised me, another image from Jiz flowed into my mind.
I began to understand most of it.
Practice, and then training.
With practice, the wings could be controlled more naturally as part of the body, and by raising my level and abilities, I could enhance flight capability to a practical level.
This—was a useful ability, I was sure of it.
☆
The next morning, while handling state affairs in my study, the fourth prince Henry requested an audience.
After letting him in, Henry knelt and bowed deeply with a rather stern frown.
“What’s wrong, Henry? You look troubled.”
“This report just came in, and I was wondering what to do.”
“Let me see.”
I took the report from Henry and read through it.
It was addressed to Minister Prince Henry, Minister of Military Affairs.
It came from a magistrate of a small frontier town, reporting that nearby bandits had taken over a mountain and were acting suspiciously.
The plan was to annihilate them with all possible effort.
“The bandits number five thousand, huh.”
“Yes. Relmo—an obscure rural town I didn’t even know the name of—has five thousand bandits causing trouble. This is a big problem. If handled poorly, the entire town might fall, and the rebellion could rapidly spread.”
“Hmm.”
“I thought we should send troops from the center to suppress the threat, so I’d like Your Majesty’s approval.”
Listening to Henry, I read the report again from the beginning.
Then—
“Hah...”
A cold smile tugged at one corner of my mouth involuntarily.
“Your Majesty? What’s so funny?”
“Henry, you’ve fought rebel forces many times, but you’ve never dealt with frontier bandits, have you?”
“That’s true...”
Henry looked at me, as if asking, So?
Smiling back at him, I said:
“Reports like these about bandit suppression tend to exaggerate the enemy numbers—no, greatly exaggerate.”